Perfect in AAA, Astros call up reliever Carpenter

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Nineteen scoreless outings at Class AAA proved to be good enough for David Carpenter to get the call from Class AAA, but three sliders were just as telling.

As Carpenter, the product of last August’s Pedro Feliz trade, transformed from just a gifted hard thrower into a more complete pitcher, he became brighter on the Astros’ radar. So with a chance to bring up a reliever to fill out their bullpen, which had been a man short with the need for three catchers in the aftermath of J.R. Towles’ jaw injury, the Astros went with the 25-year-old West Virginian.

“I like those 0.00 ERA guys a lot,” general manager Ed Wade said. “Early on, it was a question of whether the slider was going to come quickly enough to warrant an opportunity this early in the season. A couple of our guys saw him in the last couple weeks and thought he was sort of a 1 3/4- pitch kind of guy.”

But they got a very positive report on the slider from Class AAA Oklahoma City pitching coach Burt Hooton after an outing this week. Carpenter is also using a changeup more to complement a 94 -mph fastball. He struck out 21 and walked six in his 19 innings at Oklahoma City after starting the year with a 17:3 strikeout:walk ratio and a 4.50 ERA at Class AA Corpus Christi.

The Astros couldn’t bring Fernando Rodriguez back because he must wait 10 days in the minor leagues unless directly replacing a disabled list-bound player. So as with any new reliever, the Astros will pick their spots carefully with Carpenter, circumstances permitting.

“We want to get him in games where it may not be ‘do or die’ end of games,” manager Brad Mills said.

With Towles now healthy enough to catch with a slightly altered mask, the Astros sent catcher Brian Esposito back to Oklahoma City. Esposito was up for three games but did not play.